Unfrozen
by SovereignGFC
Summary: There is more magic in "Frozen" than anyone realizes. Elsa, Anna, and others are transported to our world shortly after the film's release. How will society react to bona-fide magic? What would Elsa think of the internet? Major OCs are from our universe only.
1. Cleanup

**Chapter 1 – Cleanup**

The winter storms would go down in record books. An entire new term worked its way into the public consciousness in order to describe them—"polar vortex." There was some scientific explanation for it, but as far as everyday people were concerned, it just meant "really, really cold" (and maybe a lot of snow to go with it).

Many cities found their snow removal funds empty, or close to it. Transportation snarled or ground to a halt, leaving people stranded. Areas not used to cold or freezing found themselves forced to cope with "weather you get when you're up north." News reports afterward would say the whole thing caused billions of dollars in lost profits, extra pay to those whose jobs it was to remove the snow, and additional money spent on materiel needed to fight the forces of nature.

More than once, the whole episode was jokingly blamed on a character from a recently-released movie—"Frozen," in which Queen Elsa's ice powers plunge her entire Norway-inspired kingdom of Arendelle into winter. Images of Elsa condemning runners to stay inside, taunting people about "enjoying my polar vortex," and more filled the Internet.

That this had more basis in facts than fiction never occurred to anyone.

[…]

Relations with the Southern Isles, never good, deteriorated faster than any other country except Weselton (having been entered into the official record as "Weasel-town"). The former's thirteenth in line, Prince Hans, returned in disgrace having been foiled in his attempt to seize power in Arendelle by deceiving Princess Anna and killing Queen Elsa. His brothers were none too pleased—though they were no fans of the reclusive Arendelle, starting a war was definitely not on the daily agenda.

As for Weselton, its Duke proclaimed to his residents that he'd been unfairly targeted by a sorceress. Most were inclined to believe him simply because virtually no one knew anything about Arendelle—not since the Closing anyway. Thus, tales of magic spread easily.

The source of said magic, having demonstrated to her people that she really wasn't as dangerous as she first appeared, prepared to take power in a kingdom unused to such youthful rule. Without regents or other caretakers to hold the throne, Elsa would have to trust those around her since her considerable isolation left the new Queen with very few of the skills generally needed for ruling a country.


	2. Snow Magic

**Chapter 2 – Snow Magic **

With the thaw came the tourists. Though "polar vortex" reglected itself to the rear-view mirror for most people, tens of millions remained captivated by snow anyway, flooding to the (ironically) warm Disney World in order to experience the magic again. Lines stretched for hours for meet-and-greets, so long that at its worst, it was probably the only thing exhausted parents would do that day with their children, whose excitement over the visit to the Norway Pavilion was only exceeded by impromptu singings of "Let It Go."

"Ugh."

Though some informal rivalries existed since the park's founding between various face characters (those who took on roles that did not require a full-body costume), those between the new "Frozen" sisters and everyone else broke records. The people portraying Elsa and Anna could probably run on adoration alone if such things were possible. That meant fewer visitors for everyone else, and nobody cast as Jasmine, Snow White, or Gaston took the role to _not_ interact with guests.

"Whoa, you're dressed already?"

Andrea Kwon couldn't believe her eyes. Sure, she'd known Bethany for being faster than most others at princess dress-up, but this quick stretched limits of the imagination.

"No, seriously Clayton, let me in on your secret."

Instead of answering, the woman she presumed to be her friend turned and ran off.

Andrea decided to do a little detective work. She left her own costuming half-done (earning looks from her assistants) and swept over to Bethany's section.

She stood and blinked. Feeling a bit silly, she slapped herself hard, causing some makeup to smear. It didn't matter, it could be reapplied. What made no sense whatsoever was the scene before her. An empty chair. Dresses hanging neatly on the wall. No bag, purse, or street clothing. In fact, if Bethany was here, she must have taken some notes from her Boy Scout brother Ben—not a single trace of her anywhere.

"Leave no trace camping, hah" she muttered. "Leave no trace Disney Princess costuming. Wonder if they'd make a badge for it in Girl Scouts?"

About to return to her own preparations, she instead heard a scream and a crash.

Lana Fitz sprawled uncomfortably on the floor, which, for some inexplicable reason, had a coat of rapidly melting ice.

"Owwww" she moaned. "Where'd this come from?"

Andrea didn't know Lana very well (since the roles of Mulan and Tiana rarely crossed paths officially), but she moved to help her fellow cast member up and nearly slipped herself.

"How is there _ice_ in the middle of _summer_ inside Disney World?" demanded Kwon, catching her balance with one hand and offering the other to Lana. "Also, have you seen Bethany?"

"Yeah!" replied Lana. "She was running like Rafe was after her though."

Both women let out huge sighs. Rafe Reynolds probably came from some corporate management ladder. He was bossy, standoffish, and exacting to a fault. Rumor had it he sometimes measured costuming down to the millimeter ("Metric allows for more precision!"), though neither experienced this unpleasantness personally.

"She ran away from me too!" cried Andrea. "Did something happen?"

"Do I look like I know?" laughed Lana. "She never tells us anything."

"I'm Queen Elsa of Arendelle" said Andrea in a mocking version of Bethany's voice. "But I can't do snow magic because it's illegal outside of my kingdom!"

Lana carefully stepped around the water that only minutes ago caused her to fall.

"Also, Rafe's not on today. Johnny's the one we should tell about this!"

Everyone loved Johnny. He never held himself above anyone, was as flexible as corporate policies allowed, and did everything he could to make life easier for those working under him who put in honest effort. He was actually the reason Bethany Clayton ended up in the role of "Elsa" anyway—the previous face had been, to put it mildly, an unpleasant person. She'd been shunted off somewhere else to the delight of the rest of the Princess staff.

"I know, I know" he huffed upon Lana and Andrea's arrival in his office. "The Belle already rang!"

"Ha, ha, ha." Peggy Marsh, also known as "Belle," had a habit of reporting just about anything she saw that was out of line. Hence the overused joke.

"I'd blame some vendor, but there aren't any food carts backstage…"

A/N: I have never been to Disney World, nor do I know anyone who works there. Thus, don't be surprised if what I'm describing behind-the-scenes is wrong.


	3. The Things I Do Not Know

**Chapter 3 – The Things I Do Not Know**

Stumbling and tripping, Elsa evaded people who seemed to recognize and had called out to her, though "Bethany" was not her name. Wherever she was, she had no clue. Arendelle was never this warm—not even in summer. The roads, if they could be called that, looked very unfamiliar—some kind of solid black in certain areas giving way to cobblestone she recognized in others.

She stopped herself from running into a group of people exiting some kind of strange box with wheels on it. Stagecoaches could hold a few people, but…

"One. Two. Three…"

Concealed behind a large tree, she finished at "twenty-seven."

Squinting, the Queen struggled to comprehend the clothing of these people. The men were easy enough, but what made no sense were the ones with the head and body of a woman but the clothes of a man. What self-respecting woman would wear anything but a dress in public? Even peasant women of Arendelle did not don their husband's trousers!

A snarling, loud noise made her jump, causing a blast of ice to exit her left palm. The wheel-box was moving! But how? No horses pulled it. A puff of black smoke emitted from a pipe sticking out of it, and the huge thing accelerated away.

"How is this possible?"

She saw eyes turn toward her and realized her head stuck out from behind the tree.

"Looks like one of our Princesses is lost! Hey! Elsa!"

Even the correct name didn't ease her confusion and fear. A trail of ice followed behind as the Queen of Arendelle fled again.

"Well, that's a new one" remarked the man who'd called out. "Shame it's gonna make my job worse…"

Chatter among his fellow workers centered on some "amazing new effects" and "no way anyone else is going to have characters this real!"

Cliff Salor decided to see what kind of high-tech fake snow park costuming managed to stuff up Elsa's dress. He landed flat on his back for his curiosity.

"Oh, so not only do I have to clean it, but it's a safety hazard!" he groused.

Said safety hazard extended continuously behind its source, though bowing to physics it eventually melted as Elsa made no conscious effort to infuse it with magic.

It didn't take long for Disney World park management to figure out something strange was afoot. Multiple employees ended up falling due to something that wasn't supposed to be physically possible—either an epic prank was being played on the park or stranger forces were at work.

"Bethany!"

The newly-arrived young woman employed as the face role of Elsa couldn't understand why everyone stared at her.

"What?"

She looked around, confused.

"What's wrong? Why did you run away?"

Clayton dodged anyone asking questions until she reached the "Princess Pavilion," a backstage area where all of the princess face characters did their costuming before the park opened.

"I did not run away" she said heatedly. "I actually just got here, and have no idea what everyone is going on about, so would you mind filling me in?"

"First off, you're late. But secondly, did you get a twin sister somewhere?" asked Johnny. "Because there are a lot of people here who definitely think they saw you running around the park, trying to stay out of sight."

"No."

"What's more" continued her manager, "this person seems to be wearing an Elsa costume—but all of yours are in storage where they are supposed to be and nobody saw someone leave with one."

"Well, then call the Ghostbusters or something. Unless it's more of a Scooby-Doo type deal where someone's gonna get in trouble for being scary and causing confusion in the park…"

"The park opens in an hour!" exclaimed Lana. "We can't have this!"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Bingham shrugged. He'd seen some weird goings-on; anyone dealing with the general public would if you were in the job long enough. Mysterious trails of ice following a stranger were new, however.


	4. Not in Arendelle Anymore

**Chapter 4 – Not in Arendelle Anymore**

Anna couldn't find Elsa.

That was fairly common recently (much to Anna's dismay), being that the Queen had to be practically everywhere doing Queenly things, but this time seemed different. Very different. Namely, stepping out of what she knew to be her bedchamber and ending up in what appeared to be a very large room rather than a hallway. A poorly-lit one at that.

"Ow!"

A large something hit her in the head, followed by one or two similar somethings. In the dim light, she could vaguely make out the shape of a human body. But what was this clear substance that stopped her from touching it?

The Princess grabbed hold of whatever-it-was and dragged it toward a source of illumination.

"Light, but no flames. Very strange" she muttered. "Now what is this?"

The box made a soft "thump" as it hit the floor.

"Disney Frozen My Size Elsa" she read. Turning, she realized several similar boxes lay over where she'd stood previously. One of them had the same writing, but several others caught her eye. She was seeing _herself_, or, rather, an imitation of herself. At least if the name was right ("Disney Frozen My Size Anna").

"Who is this Disney and why did he, she, or it make mannequins of me and my sister?"

She tugged and pulled, eventually tearing into whatever material made up the container in which a likeness of her could be found. She yanked the doll out by its head, expressing surprise as part of it lit up.

"Again with the flameless light. What is going on?"

As she touched the mannequin's face, she heard a noise.

"Sasha, is that you? We need those Frozen dolls up here!" yelled a woman's voice. "The customers are practically rioting!"

Anna decided if someone needed these, she'd be glad to help. She put two under each arm, leaving the opened one. Three "Anna" and one "Elsa."

"Hurry! Bring more Elsas!" said the woman, who Anna could now see clearly. The speaker froze, not finishing her next word upon seeing Anna.

"Sash…"

Recovering, Amber laughed. "Sasha, you really outdid yourself this time, but what did you do to your hair?"

"I'm not Sasha" replied the girl in an irritated tone. "I'm Princess Anna of Arendelle and I want to know why there are these mannequins of myself and my sister back here!"

On one hand, Amber Gordon knew some of her employees liked to play dress-up, but now was not the time. That said, this girl sounded absolutely nothing like Sasha—actually, whoever she was, she could be a dead ringer for Anna. Probably on the costume circuit, but that didn't explain how she ended up in the back of Amber's toy shop.

"I know you need to be in character for wherever you're going, but could you please bring me those dolls?"

After Anna handed the boxes over, Amber sighed. Three Anna, one Elsa. Not what she'd asked for, but at the same time this clearly wasn't her employee.

"Who are you? How did you end up in my stockroom?"

"Beats me. I think my sister's ice powers make more sense than how I got here."

"I'm Amber. I understand you're really into this, but I have to deal with several angry parents, so if you could just head this way…"

"Where'd she come from?" shouted a woman, noticing Anna beyond Amber's turned back.

"Nice costume!" yelled another. "Do you do birthday parties?"

"Oh man, my daughters will freak!" said a man as he pulled out his smartphone. "I gotta get a picture!"

His action led to a mass-clamoring for photo-taking devices.

"What is that sound?" demanded Anna as click after click assaulted her ears. Several bright flashes caused her to wince as she pushed past Amber and nearly ran into a counter.

"Who are you people?" asked Anna.

"Some of the luckiest parents alive, apparently" gushed the first to speak. "You look like you walked out of the movie!"

"I have no idea what a movie is, and second what are you all doing?"

The flashings and clickings continued.

"Taking pictures" said the man who'd mentioned his daughter. He lowered his voice. "My son really likes Anna but won't admit it—his sister teases him mercilessly. Not about liking a 'girl movie' but because he says all girls have cooties. Except Anna."

Princess Anna of Arendelle became more and more flummoxed. These people seemed to know who she was—they even pronounced her name correctly—but at the same time were treating her as if she was some kind of wandering performer. Princesses at birthday parties? What next, weekly dinners in the castle?

"You sound just like Kristen Bell!" squealed one of the women beyond plates of glass that made up what appeared to be a store counter. "Here, say your line!"

The woman thrust a strange rectangular thing toward her. Anna instinctively recoiled, knocking whatever it was from its owner's hand. It landed with a clatter.

"She's camera-shy, people!" bellowed the man. "Give her some space!"

"What's a camera?"

Several parents clustered had to stop themselves from making comments about this Anna impersonator's mental abilities.

"We want our dolls!" yelled a mom in the back. "You said you'd have a whole new stock! Some girl named Sasha told me exactly that this morning!"

"Amber…"

The manager turned, recognizing the timid, small voice of her favorite employee.

"This box is open. Should I just repack it?"

Seeing a potential for a deal, several bystanders shouted loudly about discounts for dented-box merchandise.

"It's Frozen, you'll take what you can get and you'll pay full price!" replied Amber testily. "There's nothing wrong with the doll, everything's in the box! No discounts!"

She switched back to Sasha. "Just tape it up neatly and bring me more Elsas!"


	5. Open the Gates

**Chapter 5 – Open the Gates**

Confident whatever was causing seemingly-random patches of ice would not threaten the safety of guests, Walt Disney World opened on-schedule at 9:00AM. Some of the Princesses were a little razzed, but they'd keep it all inside, just like when dealing with impolite, insulting, or outright strange people in the park. As visitors flooded in, Elsa, Queen of Arendelle tried to escape unnoticed. Due to the trail she left behind, that became impossible.

All it took was the excitement of one small child.

"Look Mommy! It's Elsa!"

"No honey, she's in the…"

The mother in question ate her words.

_She's by herself, there's no line, this is perfect._

Unfortunately for Lisa Darros, she was not the only parent to notice or be near enough to execute on the idea of getting her photoshoot in first. A small horde of parents with knee-high children surrounded Elsa, flustering her.

"Who are you? Please, stay away!"

In a scene straight out of _Frozen_, both parent and offspring flailed about before landing in various positions on suddenly-generated ice that immediately began to melt in the Florida heat, but not before causing many slips.

"That's definitely not what we were told would happen!" complained Lisa.

Though parents were put out, some of their children were absolutely delighted with the idea of real snow at Disney World—the very thing their overactive imaginations insisted would be there "because Elsa is magical" despite all parental insistence to the contrary. Of course, this spectacle attracted _more_ people, including park security.

Elsa knew she had to leave. Whether or not these people meant her harm, she didn't want to hurt _them_ by accident. Especially not the children. She couldn't fathom why, but they seemed to be enamored with her—she saw it in their awestruck eyes. Even though she'd gained more control over her snow and ice powers, the stress and confusion of this new world threatened her fragile truce with the magic burning inside her. She'd already left obvious tracks behind ever since arriving, and now an explosion of ice sent dozens of people onto their rears.

"Hold it right there!"

She attempted to dodge the loud man, only to stumble into another crowd of people dressed in the same odd fashion as those she'd seen disembarking from the large rectangular horseless coach. Only then did she realize snow swirled around her, causing tourists dressed for typical Florida weather to back away quickly as they felt temperatures plunge.

Elsa pitched forward and landed hard in her own snow, struck from behind by tens of thousands of volts of electricity conducted over wires from a Taser. The shock was only momentary, however, since this caused an immediate response from her ice powers, much the same way a pair of Weselton guards found their crossbows to be of limited use in a similar situation. Wires froze and shattered, cutting off current and letting the Queen stand again.

Gritting her teeth and girding for battle, she only let her hands fall to her sides upon seeing a large number of children dispersed throughout the crowd.

[…]

Though both Disney and local Orlando police would have preferred to keep the "ice incident" low-key, in an age of hyper-connectivity such wishes were a pipe dream as videos poured onto YouTube. Newscasts were rearranged to accommodate this wild new development.

"In a bizarre incident today, a guest was forcibly detained at Disney World after appearing to manifest powers similar to those of Elsa from the recently-released movie 'Frozen.' Speculation that this was a result of malfunctions in some kind of advanced special effects in use at Disney World was quickly denied by park management, though they refused to offer any further information and directed Channel 13 to speak with law enforcement."

"Frankly, we have no comment at this time" insisted a sergeant in the Orlando Police Department. "If we see fit to release information regarding the incident, we will contact local media ourselves."

Trending topics on Twitter shifted to include #DontTazeTheQueen, #IceInMyDisneyMoreLikelyThanYouThink, #LetElsaGo, and more. Though the initial response of online communities was seemingly-arbitrary skepticism, that so many people captured video from divergent angles at varying levels of quality led credence to the theory that somehow, something generated a large amount of cold in a very short period of time.

"It has to be some kind of nanotech" insisted one speculator. "No way that could be done without dangerous amounts of dry ice otherwise!"

"Whatever it is, I'd bet my next paycheck the US Army will be very interested" said another. "Even if it's a clever trick, whoever miniaturized that could be extremely rich soon."

Some offered another explanation: invoke the supernatural. These opinions were quickly buried in groups bent on finding a scientific explanation. Yet, as many opponents of the view had to admit, barring some kind of fantastic advance in technology nobody knew about, it almost seemed to be the most plausible solution based on evidence presented.

[…]

Hundreds of miles away, Anna sat with Amber and another young woman introduced as Sasha. The trio escaped from Amber's establishment after virtually everything with "Frozen" on it was stripped from the shelves and back room.

"You really have no idea what's going on?"

Both parties asked similar forms of the question—Anna still having no clue how or where she was and her new hosts only now realizing how limited their guest's knowledge of everything they took for granted ended up being.

"I stepped out of my room to look for my sister" said Anna for what seemed like the seventh time. "I felt something hit me in the head, and I found these mannequins."

"They're just dolls" replied Sasha, almost annoyed. "Big, sure, but you're not gonna see one in the window modeling clothes at Abercrombie or Old Navy…"

Anna stared blankly.

"They're clothing stores."

Sighing, Sasha pulled out her HTC One M8. She'd wanted an iPhone, but since her computer geek older sister did all the family's tech support, her wishes had been overruled in favor of what Liz would be able to work on easily.

"Here" said Sasha, pushing the device toward Anna. "Since you apparently have no idea what's going on, read up. Remember, not everything you find on Wikipedia is true."

"I don't understand" replied Anna. "What is this, and what does it do?"

Ten minutes later, Anna operated Sasha's "smartphone" with some level of aptitude, though still clumsy.

"This is so cool! I just touch it and it does what I want! Oops!"

The phone's speakers, louder than average, began blaring.

"For the first time in forever, I could be noticed by someone…"

Anna nearly dropped it in shock.

"How is my voice coming out of this box? This is creepy!"

Sasha took her phone back, navigating to another webpage.

"Frozen (2013 film)" read Anna aloud. "Kristen Bell as Anna, the 18-year-old Princess of Arendelle and Elsa's younger sister."

Pausing before pushing the phone back across the table, she pouted.

"If you're trying to be less creepy, you're not helping yourself."

Having said nothing prior, Amber decided to add some perspective.

"Anna, what Sasha's trying to say is that everything you're telling us—where you're from, who you are—it's not supposed to exist. As far as we know, it's a work of fiction written by the Walt Disney Company, the same ones responsible for producing the dolls you found."

"Well, if I'm not supposed to exist, then could I do this?" She gleefully swept both Sasha's silverware and phone off the table. The former clinked loudly while the latter landed with a dull splat.

Sasha's eyes widened in surprise.

"Please don't be broken, please don't be broken, please don't be broken" she mumbled, almost afraid to see whether she'd need to work extra hours to afford replacing a device that cost hundreds of dollars even with an obnoxious two-year contract.

"Anna!" she yelled, shoving the cracked screen in the other girl's face. "You broke my phone!"

"It still lights up though!" said Anna brightly. "See?"

The Android home screen remained visible, though several large cracks now ran the width and height of the large device.

"Yeah" muttered Sasha. "And my parents will totally believe me that a character from a movie appeared from nowhere, knocked my phone onto the floor, and…"

The diner around them had gone completely quiet. A sound gradually faded in, and two of three realized the volume of a wall-mounted tube TV had been cranked up.

"…were unable to confirm the number of injuries, but Disney officials did acknowledge an incident occurred this morning at their Florida park. The following is cell phone footage taken at the scene."

"Elsa!"

Other patrons, already giving Anna furtive looks for her odd manner of dress, now stared without attempting to conceal their interest.


	6. This is Not Science

**Chapter 6 – This Is Not Science**

A series of events following being taken into captivity rapidly convinced those responsible for holding her that this "Elsa" did in fact possess powers that defied any attempt to explain them. First, while she willingly placed her hands in cuffs, the restraints became superchilled and shattered. Then, overly-aggressive interrogations resulted in the entire room freezing.

"I don't want to hurt anyone!" she protested as a cell door slammed.

"Then stop freezing everything you touch" replied a bored guard, who turned his back and walked away.

_I could escape_ she thought. _But they'll just hunt me down again. What am I supposed to do?_

Elsa briefly wondered if she'd be able to make it back to Arendelle. Then it dawned on her she had no idea where she was, and given the much different state of the world, Arendelle might not even exist here. The detective she'd spoken to even said as much.

"Arendelle? Sure you haven't been watching too many Disney movies?"

Hundreds of miles away, Anna and Sasha were doing exactly that. Amber sent the latter home—she'd bet big on "Frozen," stocking little else in her small store. With nothing left to sell, there was no need to keep employees on the clock.

"You're home early" said Liz. "Don't you have more hours at that toy store?"

"No—we have nothing left to sell!"

Liz turned around. "So you sold out of… I didn't know you stocked costumes. Who's your friend?"

Anna pursed her lips in annoyance and opened her mouth to object before Sasha spoke over her.

"Well, if we take her at her word, this is Anna."

"I've heard of serious cosplayers before, but taking it to the level that little kids do at your age is…strange."

Both sisters had a love-hate relationship with the new Disney smash hit. On one hand, it might have singlehandedly saved The Old Trunk from going out of business. On the other, having "Let It Go" playing constantly drove all but the most fervent fan over the edge. Plus, Liz wasn't even supposed to like "Frozen"—everyone knew women in engineering were supposed to like manly things. Of course, when she tried on an Elsa dress, suddenly the men in her program who were so vocally dismissive of "Frozen" were at a loss for words…

"You people are stinkers. Why do you keep saying I'm telling lies?" demanded a flustered Anna.

Liz slowly pivoted to face this "Anna." She either did a perfect Kristen Bell impression, or something else was going on.

"Here."

She handed her sister a flash drive.

"Plug this into the media center in the living room. I hate DVDs."

A minute later, all three plopped down on the Jamison family's overstuffed couch.

"There aren't any…castles around here, are there?"

"The United States wasn't much for monarchies" replied Liz. "That's why we declared independence from Great Britain."

Sasha clicked to open the flash drive, and a high-definition copy of "Frozen" began to play. Over the hundred or so minutes that followed, Anna had to be shushed from asking questions ("What's that do? I've never seen a picture move before I came here!"), told to be quiet as she complained yet again about being creeped out, and given looks but allowed to belt out a tune alongside her lines in the film's soundtrack.

Once the file finished playing and an orange cone appeared on the TV screen, Anna couldn't decide whether to run around squealing at all the strange new _things_ in this dwelling or angrily demand more information it was increasingly apparent neither of her new acquaintances had.

"So you have paintings that move and make sounds, little rectangles that work like books, and no royalty" she finished.

"TV, smartphone, and democracy" replied Sasha.

Liz flipped the TV away from her HTPC.

"In this exclusive interview Orlando's Channel 13 shared with CNN, the woman who claims to be Queen Elsa of Arendelle speaks for the first time."

"She's not actually…in there, is she?"

Anna strode across the room to poke at the thing that was called a "TV."

"Don't touch the screen!" yelped Liz. "You'll damage it."

"I just want to go home" pleaded Elsa, her hands in manacles yet again. The astute eye could see frost forming already. "My people need me, and my sister is probably worried sick."

"You're aware Arendelle, this place you claim to be from, doesn't exist here?"

"Where is 'here?'"

"You're in the United States of America, in the state of Florida."

The sisters only heard Anna as she crashed out their front door.

"Bring your horses! Where are your horses?"

They found Anna tugging at tow hooks on the front of the Jamison family's SUV.

"Where do the horses attach?" she demanded. "This makes no sense!"

Liz giggled.

"Oh, the things you haven't learned. It's a car. Or, probably best to call it a horseless carriage."

"Oh, did someone figure out how to get those huge steam engines inside?"

Sasha leaned over to her sister. "If this really _is_ Anna, that movie's set long before any technology we know today was invented. Assuming steam's the most advanced power source they have, this must be quite a shock."

Anna now pulled on a door handle.

"I…want…to see…my sister" she gritted through her teeth.

Two beeps of a car remote later, the door popped open and Anna tumbled backward.

"Do you think Mom will care if we take the car?"

"Sash, we're both on spring break. Dad's in who-knows-where on a business trip. So long as we don't end up on the news for driving the car into a ditch, I'd guess not—but you know that means I'm in charge!"

"What are we supposed to write, 'Took car and drove to Florida?'"

[…]

The people of Arendelle were grateful to no longer be threatened with extinction by their own Queen. Markedly less endearing was what came next. A few months after "the thaw," two events occurred with most unfortunate timing. First, Elsa disappeared.

Then, they showed up.

Hans had been sent packing, but here he was at the gates. Oddly, he made clear that it wasn't "the Southern Isles" behind this show of force—he just served as a messenger of "your aggrieved neighbor, Weselton."

"Messengers do not bring armies" insisted Elsa's foreign affairs minister.

"Perhaps you should have listened to his message, then."

Hans, being Hans, wasn't really interested in whatever ideological conflicts existed between the Duke and Arendelle—all he cared for was the large amount of payment the Duke offered. Something about "throwing the little monster off balance" while the army chased down her sister, the Queen.

"Why do you shelter a monster?" he asked.

"Lest you forget" replied the minister haughtily, "we know what you did. Some say 'forgive and forget,' but we here in Arendelle prefer 'always remember.'"

Arendelle never was one for much military spending. Neither was Weselton, but enough money could buy an army of mercenaries, pirates, and other less-than-savory characters. The harbor now filled with skull-and-crossbones while land routes were blocked off by large numbers of horsemen. They'd even brought expensive, unwieldy cannons to make a point—resistance was not recommended.

Seeing he would not get anywhere with words, Hans, placed in charge as per his agreement, ordered the cannons to fire blanks.

"There's no need to cause excessive damage" he explained to baffled barbarians who were hoping to simply flatten Arendelle from both land and sea. "Why destroy something you intend to take for yourself?"

Seeing no indication that the stubborn little kingdom would surrender, he followed up with an actual barrage of cannonfire aimed specifically at the main gate. The notion of defensive gates became somewhat obsolete in the face of gunfire, but without explosive shot it would take longer than one might think to blast through heavy wood with propelled iron. As the gate splintered, divisions of paramilitary units moved forward.

Hans grinned as he triumphantly returned to what he presumed would soon be his; he'd agreed to split the Arendelle treasury with Weselton as part of the deal. Essentially, Arendelle would be paying a good portion of Hans' fee. As he looked around at semi-familiar sites, his vision became blurry as though he were underwater. Moving forward, both he and his escorts became aware they were no longer in the place they thought they were.


	7. Roadtrip

A/N: There is a blizzard here. So you, dear reader, win!

**Chapter 7 – Roadtrip **

"So this thing just runs on nothing?" asked Anna excitedly as Liz started the big vehicle.

"Gasoline" mumbled Sasha. "I doubt you have it." She was still annoyed about her phone. True, its functions were unimpaired, but cracks running across the screen were distracting.

"Technically, it's a reaction from gasoline igniting in presence of a spark and converting that to mechanical work. In addition, drivetrain losses…"

"Oh stop it" said Sasha loudly. "You're going to bore our guest with tech."

"You do realize that this plan has a big hole in it, right?" asked Anna. "Leave this place, go to this 'Florida,' something, something, Elsa."

"You're one to talk" taunted Sasha from the back seat. "_Your_ idea of a plan was 'I'm going to find my sister, who I will talk to and then somehow she will unfreeze everything.'"

"I know" replied Anna smugly. "That's how I recognized that your plan stinks!" She paused. "But it's better than no plan."

Liz turned on the car's radio. Like many American families of the day, they'd bought a boat-size transportation method, gotten dinged by high gas prices, and gotten a second ding from mortgage issues leaving them unable to bail out of said boat. Despite over a hundred-thousand miles on the odometer, the big truck-car kept going, so neither adult was inclined to replace it (though the second car was a fuel-friendly hybrid and Dad drove a company-issued sedan).

"You get sound out of the air?" gasped Anna. "This world is weird!"

"If by weird you mean technologically further along than yours, yes."

"So do people die from the pox, coughs, or fevers?"

"Not usually" explained Liz. "We have doctors who treat those things. And some of them are prevented."

"You can prevent the pox?" Anna sounded almost as excited as when the trio finished watching "Frozen."

"Yeah. We've spent all this time talking about us—what about you? What about Arendelle?"

"Obviously, your clothing is strange" began Anna. "I mean, women don't _wear_ trousers where I'm from! Also, as you've probably noticed, we're not that thin. How did they get the story right, but make us look like caricatures?"

Liz rolled her eyes. Disney's animators (and cartoons in general) tended to play with the forms of virtually everything. No reason to expound on that now, she wanted to hear more about Arendelle.

"It's pretty much like it looks in your motion-painting" ("Movie!" hissed Sasha). "I mean, the castle is a bit smaller. And the spiral staircase is definitely not that impressive… You absolutely sure you have _no idea_ how someone got a big chunk of my life and converted it into this…movie?"

"For the last time, no!" laughed Liz. "It sounds like magic to me, honestly."

"Like this horseless carriage!"

Liz rolled her eyes again. This was a prime example of how what was thought to be a personality invented for entertainment could be slightly grating in real life.

"Let's talk about your engagement" said Liz in a baiting tone. "You know, so my kid sister doesn't…"

"Hey!" cried Anna and Sasha in unison.

Fifty miles behind, Emily Jamison parked her Prius.

_I wonder what it'll say this time?_ She looked for the required note on the counter.

'Took car, drove to Florida.'

She let out a breath. On one hand, ridiculous. On the other, they'd been wanting to go to Disney World for several years, but Harper could never line up his vacation with hers so the trip was on perpetual hold.

"I just hope they set a budget, and that they don't spend an entire day in line for that crazy 'Frozen' thing" she muttered.

[…]

Hans held up his hand, ordering all his men to halt. Before them stretched a large gray path with white lines on either side. Behind them, more path, and more forest. Not a cottage or castle in sight, and a sign by the side of what he guessed was a road was totally unhelpful due to being in a language none could read.

"If Elsa could conjure snow, I guess this shouldn't strike me as unusual, but the whole _point_ of this was our spy who told us that the Queen went and disappeared!"

He couldn't help but be bitter about that. The best chance to claim a throne for himself, thwarted yet again by what appeared to be supernatural circumstances.

"Be careful, men!" he bellowed. "The sorceress may have pushed us back! So, forward!"

Hooves clopped noisily against the gray material underfoot.

"Well at least pulling these cannons is easier!" growled a hireling some distance behind.

"Perhaps we should not follow this path" mused Hans. "I would not be surprised if this was meant to put us in a neat line for…"

SCREEEEEE-BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

"What is that?"

"Red demon!"

A large _something_ nearly flipped on its side trying to avoid Hans' column. Someone appeared from inside, yelling words that made no sense to anyone he directed them at (_Herregud!_ _Dust!_). Several crossbows let loose, breaking the glass that made up the box-shaped thing's windows. Hans thought it a carriage, but where were its horses? And it moved at a speed no horse could match.

_Click. *Flash* Click. Click._

_Hva gjør du her? Veiene er for biler, ikke hester!_

The strange man retreated behind his horseless carriage.

"_Nødetatene…"_

A/N: Yes, you caught me machine-translating Norwegian. Sorry.


	8. Behind the Times

**Chapter 8 – Behind the Times**

Getting from the Jamison household to Florida was not going to be a short trip, no matter what. The continental United States, explained Liz to Anna, covered vast expanses of land that exceeded the size of any nation or city Anna recalled from her own life. Sasha had taken over operation of the "horseless carriage," and tuned out her sister nerding out over anything and everything Anna of Arendelle had to ask.

Quite the opposite of being bored with discussions of technology, Anna eagerly lapped it all up, even as she kept shrugging and saying something along the lines of "if you say so."

"I know this is about the fifth topic you've said that to" sighed Liz. "Let's just say we have a phrase—'Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' I guess that whole question of what would happen if Napoleon had a jet fighter now has some basis in reality…"

Seeing Anna's intrigued but still confused face, the older Jamison sister found herself having to unpack her analogy.

"I hope you don't think I'm stupid or anything" replied Anna. "It's just, none of this is anything like where Elsa and I come from!"

"Hardly" reassured Liz. "If you tried to describe fire to ancient humans who had yet to discover it, what do you think their reaction would be?"

"Pretty similar. You did what with that tree? Sorcery!"

Hours later, Sasha pulled into a greasy-looking rest stop to change drivers once again.

"Can I try?"

Both gave Anna withering looks so reminiscent of Elsa circa her engagement to Hans she desisted.

"We're almost there!" said Sasha brightly. "First good news of the day. Let's see…"

About to pull up a news video, her phone screen filled with a warning: Data usage limit approaching.

She didn't even have to ask as Liz gave her a sheepish look.

"I know the University network is horrid, but would you quit using your phone as an internet hotspot?"

It just occurred to Anna that her clothes were sweaty. Though Elsa did bring back summer, formalwear tended to place a premium on appearance over comfort. Furthermore, bathing wasn't as common for her as it was here—"You bathe daily?" she'd asked. "What a luxury!"

A small general store had some clothes that fit.

"Y'all have a good day now. Hey, you look like that chick from Frozen!" drawled the shop owner as he sent the trio on their way. Anna began to turn—she was going to give this random man a piece of her mind until Sasha stopped her.

"Let it go. He didn't mean to…"

Anna returned the glare.

"I wish we could've flown" huffed Liz as she took an exit toward Disney World. Sasha, knowing full well what would happen next, explained to Anna that in this world, people often flew through the air in metal tubes with wings. Such a device, an "airplane," would have cut the trip from over a dozen hours to less than half that.

"You have _got_ to show me those!"

[…]

Hans didn't really keep track of how long his group marched along the odd path. It seemed to be made from stone, but was far smoother than anything using that material he knew of which found a use underfoot. It was as though someone created a road from mortar, except, black.

Wailing sounds and more horseless carriages appeared, surrounding his group and blocking their path. Weapons were discharged, but they seemed to have no effect on either the low-riding white-and-red carriages or their operators.

"_Du der, stopp!"_

A cannon roared, slamming its payload into the side of the nearest of the squat buggies. It made a large dent, but did nothing to impair the men already outside it.

"_Hendene opp!"_

Another larger carriage blew past the others, turning hard and spraying dirt up. It appeared the black ribbon was used by these self-propelled carts, though they could operate off of it if necessary.

"_Slippe våpnene!_"

"I don't understand the language you are speaking!" said Hans loudly, and slower than usual speech. "If you recognize my words, bring someone else who can talk to me."

"_Engelsk, finne noen som snakker engelsk."_

This proved simple, since Norway included English in its standard educational curriculum for decades, if not longer.

"Who are you, and why are you pulling cannons around?"

Though the man had an accent, Hans could make infinitely more sense of this than whatever language these men (they looked like constables) were using previously.

"There is a dangerous person that we are hunting" he began. "But we seem to have ended up in a place other than where we thought we were. Mr…"

He looked down. "S. Vold" adorned the other's chest on a small plaque.

"…Vold, you look like the type who is in the business of protecting his people. I'm sure you'd agree that dangerous people with strange powers should not run loose!"

"I have no idea…"

Before Vold could finish, a fellow officer (who Hans noticed appeared to be a woman) pulled him aside.

"My fellow officer Bjornstad tells me that something is happening in the United States. Something that might substantiate what are otherwise wild claims. We would at least like to remove you from this wilderness, though I must ask that you leave your weapons behind."

Hans figured playing along might earn him an ally, who based on the horseless carriages alone might be far more powerful than Arendelle, the Southern Isles, Weselton, or any of the other local city-states.

Though they grumbled, the men obeyed Hans' command to abandon their artillery, swords, crossbows, and spears. The prince's curiosity ironically matched Anna's when it came to these mobile boxes, though he wasn't nearly as vocal asking questions. He read a word on the back left door—"Sprinter" though he had no clue what it meant.

[...]

It had been said that Norway could not take a bad picture. The residents of a small seaside village within that country, tucked away but not completely cut off from civilization would have agreed. However, that morning, things changed.

A shop on the main thoroughfare appeared to have shifted back in time, what a resident history enthusiast called "a 19th-century sort of look." Though customers freely patronized the shop without incident and the owner's key still worked, products inside reverted along with the exterior. No more outlets, and lights were replaced with candles or oil burners. Every trace of technology from the 20th and 21st centuries disappeared without a trace. Nobody seemed to be able to catch anything in the act, but turn away and the credit-card machine vanished from the counter. Even the cash register ceased to exist, replaced by a money drawer with lock.


	9. This Is Reality

**Chapter 9 – This Is Reality**

Given the popularity of "Frozen," it didn't take long for lines and pickets to form outside the Orlando Police Department headquarters where it was rumored the alleged Elsa was being held. Crowds blocked South Hughey Avenue and vehicles took up spaces normally designated for municipal use. These weren't the size of gatherings for sports teams, musicians, or celebrities, but more than one cop suspected after viewing the videos which kicked it all off that this could easily get out of hand.

The Orlando Chief of Police declared information regarding this woman and her apparent supernatural powers remain contained. Not secret, but also not "announcing it on the streets for everyone to hear."

Those who interviewed Elsa all said the same thing: she's scared, confused, and whatever abilities she does have manifest themselves most strongly when her emotions run high. The Chief's daughter, exactly of the age when "Frozen" would be most appealing, found herself in for a surprise.

"Chelsea, Daddy has a marvelous surprise for you. But I can't tell you what it is or show you until you make me a promise."

"Is it an Elsa doll?" Her eyes became the size of saucers.

"It's better. I need you to swear that you will not tell anyone, not even your friends at school."

"Frozen on DVD!" shrieked Chelsea. That such an eventuality would not require secrecy did not cross her young mind.

One ride in the Chief of Police SUV later, Chelsea stepped into the station. It was the same place she remembered from "Bring Your Kid to Work" day—a slightly foreboding gray building with narrow windows. No customary stop to say hi to the receptionist as her father hustled her into an elevator. Several floors up, and Chelsea wondered whether the office air conditioning (which her father always complained about) had gone nuts since he'd insisted she wear the warmest clothing in her closet. The kind needed to visit relatives in Massachusetts.

"Snow?"

She could almost feel the cold of the metal door handle through her glove.

"ELSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Utterly ignoring piles of fluff, Chelsea plowed through obstacles and leapt over a chair that had been used by interrogators. She nearly knocked the other woman over.

Elsa couldn't understand why this child insisted on hugging her or endlessly talking about how she'd "always wanted to meet" her. That said, she preferred excited children to anything else she'd experienced in this world so far.

"I expected you to be cold!" said the girl. "I'm Chelsea."

Elsa laughed nervously. "Well, everything _around_ me is cold…"

"Do the magic!"

"But I already did" insisted Elsa. "This whole room…" The Queen's mind darted back to the night she longed to forget, even though everything worked out (from a certain point of view) in the end. Reluctantly, she conjured a small snowball that shot toward a low ceiling, exploding into crystals and flakes.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaay!"

[…]

"Ugh. Even _if_ my phone wasn't cracked and dying, I have no data" complained Sasha as Liz pulled into a brightly-lit parking lot of a resort "near" enough to Disney World to sell themselves as being "conveniently close" to the attraction but with "off-site prices."

The three of them checked in with what little luggage they had (a single suitcase) and flopped into their beds. A few heads turned at Anna in passing, but without her full Arendelle garb few gave her a second look, especially since those who would be most interested were already in bed at this late hour.

The next morning, Anna woke first. She had difficulty deciding whether she should wake her fellow travelers, or see about that thing that looked like a very fat version of the Jamisons' TV. During the time she wasn't operating the "car," Liz spent much of her effort explaining various facets of the world to Anna. Thus, she understood that to operate the "TV," one needed the "remote," another rectangle covered in "buttons" ("Not the kind on your dress!"). She found it next to the clock, something else she'd never seen before. Handless clocks, horseless carriages…

"_Weird_" she whispered to herself. Anna still couldn't get over the notion of having no physical connection to a machine, but telling it what to do without another human to operate it.

"Today on CNN Newsroom" blared out of the TV, "the unusual saga of Frozen-come-to-life continues. A man strongly resembling, and claiming to be, the character Hans of the Southern Isles was found in a remote area of Norway today. He led a group carrying crossbows and pulling cannons. It's incredibly hard to believe, but here are some photos from Norwegian law enforcement…"

"No!"

This yelp woke Sasha.

"So it is true!" she taunted.

Anna's glare could have melted iron, but while "Frozen" the film got some things wrong, her massive poofy bed-head was not one of them.

"Look, looklooklook!"

"We just want to make the world aware of the threat of a sorceress who will stop at nothing to deceive. We were working with an alliance of others to reign her in until all this happened."

"What a load of…"

Anna's face turned slightly red at hearing Sasha use a word she'd been expressly prohibited from speaking, ever. In fact, no proper lady of Arendelle would ever soil her lips by saying such things, even if as applied to Hans, it wasn't untrue.

"We have to get to Elsa!"

Groans alerted the two to Liz's gradual rejoining of the waking world.

"Whuzzgoinon?"

Sasha and Anna took turns explaining, though they needn't have bothered as CNN's Newsroom continued to talk about the subject in question.

"…extremely unlikely, but combined with the events of last week at Disney World in Florida, some serious minds are starting to support the notion that something beyond the grasp of our current science is occurring."

Yet another angle on "Elsa blasts ice in Disney World" played out.

"No coherent explanation has been put forward, and initial tests of residual water from this episode have not turned up anything unusual. Barring some high-tech special effects, which Disney World again denied today, we are looking at either the most well-coordinated prank ever, or…something else."

Nobody wanted to be the first to suggest supernatural causes on national news.

"Protests at the Orlando Police Headquarters grew larger today, though the department still will not confirm that the self-identified Elsa is being held there. There have also been claims made on the internet that a shockingly-accurate lookalike of 'Anna' has been spotted in the American heartland. More after these messages."

A/N: I "visited" the places I described here via Google Maps, so descriptions are necessarily limited/inferred/made-up.


	10. Meetings

A/N: Dialogue that would be Norwegian in-universe is enclosed with [brackets].

**Chapter 10 – Meetings**

Chelsea was still of the age where imaginations ran wild. This was a time when parents had to gingerly massage expectations that no, there wouldn't be any snow when the family met Elsa at Disney World because…reasons. "It's too hot" got countered with "But magic!" among others. The official Disney line for its face characters ran something along the lines of "using snow powers outside Arendelle is illegal." For those obsessed with logical technicalities, since Arendelle didn't exist the only conditions under which such powers could be deployed _also_ would never be met so even if they _did_ exist no one should ever see them used.

Except now someone quite clearly either did a very solid impression of or actually had said powers on national TV.

The Chief decided no one else would be asked to interview Elsa. They'd swept the entire room she'd been placed in, pulled in officers who somehow hadn't heard about the whole thing—every time the room was cleaned out, the snow would come back. They'd cranked up the heat, only to realize this to be a mistake as water poured out of vents lower in the building.

"What do you want from me?" she'd asked plaintively as her confinement stretched on.

"I'm not sure" he conceded. "I believe you are saying what you think is true, but the reality that would have to exist for this to be the case doesn't fit with what I know."

A commotion called him downstairs. Elsa stood and tried to look out the narrow window of the room she'd been placed in. A small mob surrounded a braid of fiery red hair she recognized instantly.

"This is a new one" droned the officer in charge of keeping any of the protestors from getting into the building.

"No, seriously" said Anna. "I want to see my sister!"

"Listen, nice costume and all, but…"

Liz cut the cop off.

"This is the real deal. I promise you. She broke my sister's phone because she had no idea what it was. She doesn't know how she got here, and…"

CRASH.

A window partway up the headquarters shattered, after which snow began pouring out. Those immediately below dashed away as a massive cascade ran from the window to the ground. Elsa, train and all, slid down and landed a few dozen feet from where a now-shocked Anna stood.

"Anna!"

"Elsa, Hans followed us! I don't know how I got here, or how you got here, but he's here too!"

Elsa broke away from her sister's crushing hug. Though Anna wouldn't have known (as she'd been ice at the time), Sasha and Liz recognized Elsa's expression—the only time such anguish crossed her face had been when she thought herself responsible for killing her own sister.

"How?" asked Elsa weakly. "How does this happen?"

"What matters is we're together" replied Anna. "I don't think Hans will get much sympathy here…"

At that moment, the Chief and several of his aides made their way to the sisters, pushing aside the enormous crowd that gathered.

"Leave them be, leave them be!"

The pair wasn't sure what to do. Both Sasha and Liz urged them to tell their story in its entirety, so in they went. It did not escape notice that the amount of ice and snow decreased markedly in Anna's presence.

The Chief knew it was a massive breach of protocol, and could probably get him in trouble. However, he also guessed that such unusual circumstances might get him a pass for having his daughter in the room. Besides, sometimes, children, with their less constrained worldviews, could piece together puzzles that eluded adults.

Elsa let out a small laugh as Chelsea crashed into Anna, clinging tightly to her legs before letting go.

"So where did you come from?"

"Anna, this is Chelsea. She is apparently very fond of us, or, at least what she has been told about us, anyway…"

Elsa listened patiently as Anna sped through descriptions of everything she'd learned. Some of it was relevant ("These people know the story of our lives!") and some less-so ("They fly around in big metal tubes with buttons in them!").

"What does this have to do with Hans? Why is he still after me?"

"I don't know, Elsa, but…"

"Hans is a bad person!" said Chelsea suddenly. "If he's here, no one will believe anything he says! We've all seen the movie!"

"This, this 'movie' wasn't entirely accurate…" hedged Anna, "but he did in fact try to take over Arendelle. And leave me to freeze. So yes, I did punch him."

Anna looked particularly proud of this last part.

[...]

Hans and his men remained in the stern-yet-fair confines offered by the Norwegian Police Service. Given no fingerprints or other identifying markers could be found in any database, not even the United States' massive (some would say overly-reaching) stores those in charge were unsure of what to do with them. Clearly, they initially possessed hostile intent given the weapons brought along, but they had willingly given these implements of war up on the asking.

"You must let me address the people!" insisted Hans. "She is dangerous, and will freeze the entire world if we don't do what she wants!"

"Who is she, and what does she want?"

"The ice sorceress—Elsa of Arendelle!"

The interviewer excused himself. Outside, he conversed beyond Hans' earshot.

[Do you think this is related to the supposed Elsa in the United States?]

[It must be—none of this makes any sense unless we take it together as one big event…]

[But you've seen the movie!]

Sigh.

[Yes, entirely too many times. My children will not stop nagging me about making sure to buy the DVD when it comes out. Never mind we saw it at least once a week for months.]

His compatriot laughed. [Sorry. I just find it funny. But this is the "bad guy" from the film—does he know we know?]

[No, but what if the movie got it wrong? He's shorter than I expected, and his feet are smaller.]

[We should talk to the Americans about this.]


	11. Who's on First?

**Chapter 11 – Who's on First?**

"This is surprising."

Intelligence agencies sharing data supposedly came "in vogue" after the tragedy of 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States. In practice, governments remained as bureaucratic as ever…until a young woman with blonde hair showed up manifesting powers beyond understanding. All of the sudden, you might as well have had telephone wires crisscrossing the oceans.

"The United States picked up right away. I think seeing a character walk out of a movie screen and spray ice all over a prize tourist attraction might have gotten their attention."

It was quickly confirmed that while Florida had Elsa and Anna, Norway had Hans. The connections between the three were, in a word, too specific to write off as some ordinary citizen trying to talk their way into something cool—who just had a whole bunch of working cannons laying around? And then there was the matter of a small village in Norway that appeared to be slowly phasing into the past.

"I don't understand. Our top scientists have told us that every single thing we are seeing is impossible."

Nobody wanted to say it, but the Secretary of Defense finally let it out.

"Mr. President, if sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, what's to say this isn't, functionally speaking, magic?"

"We also have a village that no longer seems to realize it is in the twenty-first century" said the Prime Minister of Norway, connected via video-conferencing. "Every piece of technology not present in the mid-1800s disappears without a trace."

"Has anyone been harmed?" demanded the President.

"No, that is the strangest aspect of this" replied the Prime Minister. "Though _things_ disappear, people are able to move about as they always have, except the building they step into might be something a great-great-great grandparent would recognize."

The Norwegian woman disappeared, replaced by photos that could have come from any history textbook. It was, remarked the President, odd to see such things in color and know they had not been processed or colorized since sepia was the predominant tone for what few photographs existed then.

"What about these three people?" she asked upon returning.

"My wife was disappointed that 'Frozen' was 'too young' for our children. I arranged family movie night and got a copy of it—for national security reasons of course." He chuckled. Yes, even the President of the United States remained aware that "security as a reason" wore quite thin, but was also willing to mock it.

"It appears we have the good guys and you have the bad" he finished.

"Assuming the movie is accurate" countered his Norwegian opposite. "Hans here claims that Elsa is actually the problem. He even asked if we had any unusual weather recently."

"Well, the internet did blame Elsa for this polar vortex we had…"

"…and Hans implied this was exactly the reason. A convergence between our worlds."

Several Cabinet secretaries looked at the video screen as if seeing it properly for the first time. The Prime Minister seemed far more willing to accept the fantastical.

"You're not seriously suggesting…"

"…that we take him at his word?" replied the incredulous PM. "Absolutely not. Unless Elsa has actually attacked anybody, I think he is simply trying to sow fear in order to gain allies."

"Certain domestic elements have received this rather badly" mused the US leader. "Some talk about a dark lady and the end of the world, but if she wants to take over she's doing a very bad job of it. The last update I received was her reunion with her sister at the Orlando Police Headquarters."

[…]

"Well, we've been in communication with Norway" harrumphed the Chief. He'd thought it best to minimize the number of new people communicating with the young women, especially the emotionally-fragile Elsa (who had been armchair-diagnosed with borderline personality disorder as a fictional character). "They say Hans is making all sorts of claims that you are going to take over the world, hold us hostage with your ice powers, or do something else evil."

The Chief's face suggested he found this notion absurd as the rule that would have barred Sasha and Liz's participation. Seeing the relationship between Anna and Elsa, combined with assuming (correctly) the movie got it right, he figured anyone approved by Anna would likely not upset Elsa.

"I don't know what to do" whispered Elsa quietly. "If what they said is true and Hans was invading Arendelle when he ended up here…"

"These people have planes, cars, and no pox!" said Anna reassuringly. "They have to have something!"

"But that's just it" objected Liz. "We don't! None of this makes any sense! We believe that you're real, your kingdom is real, and that you came here somehow. How to get you back where you belong is a complete dead end!"

"And what about Hans?" Anna pouted. "If he manages to convince people that Elsa is a problem…"

She stopped talking, but even in her Arendelle garb (helpfully washed at the hotel) her balled-up fists suggested she would not go down without fighting.

"What if it _is_ magic?" asked a higher-pitched voice. "Like Elsa's snow?"

The snow in question had actually retreated significantly since the arrival of Anna, Sasha, and Liz. Chelsea took off her winter clothing, down to a jumper, and sat on Elsa's lap.

"The movie showed you doing magic without words or potions. Is it always like that?"

Elsa thought for a moment.

"Yes, it is. I just think, and things are."

"Then why don't you just think about going home?"

Feeling rather silly, Elsa shut her eyes and concentrated hard on Arendelle. Upon reopening them, she wasn't surprised to see the same faces she'd been conversing with moments ago.

"Okay, that didn't work. Next?" Anna tapped her foot impatiently.

"That doesn't rule out magic, though" insisted Sasha. "We may just be doing it wrong. It's _lev-O-sa, not levio-SA…_"

"At least nothing's exploded yet" remarked Liz. "You remember the next part of that scene…"


	12. Wrong Neighborhood

**Chapter 12 – Wrong Neighborhood**

Hans could do nothing but stew. Though he was well-practiced in manipulation and deceit, such ploys only worked on the unaware. This population refused to accept his warnings about the dangers of trusting Elsa—having apparently heard the entire story of his arrival in Arendelle and subsequent exile from it end-to-end. How _that_ was possible, he didn't know.

"Sorcery" he muttered. "The Duke was right."

Further, these "Norwegians" did not even have a monarch! If he wanted to effect any changes, he had to appeal to a bunch of _people_ elected to a council of commoners, not a king.

"We think it best to explain exactly the world you've ended up in" said a woman who called herself the Minister of Defense. That a woman who was not a Queen could command such power flummoxed him.

She, along with her counterparts in other nations, decided to let the people who were normally responsible for trying to scare errant groups into line do the talking. That is, pull up some (old) United States war films. Was it honest? No. But if it could avert whatever small conflict this Hans intended to cause against a relatively harmless person (Elsa), why not? Who said politics had to be all serious business?

Hans and several men he'd designated leaders were led into a small room.

"You're going to see exactly what you are up against, should you continue this pointless conflict-mongering."

Besides, thought the Minister, if this man really is a villain straight out of a Disney movie…

"The most powerful battleships the world has ever seen!" boomed the typically-bombastic male voice found on American war-informationals (propaganda, really). "Fifty thousand tons of steel, the _Iowa_-class battleship can lob shells sixteen inches in diameter twenty-four miles, crushing anything unfortunate enough to be caught in the massive explosion. No ship, not Soviet, Chinese, or other Red nation can match these vessels' firepower and speed. Almost three thousand men operate each vessel, a city unto itself…"

Hans and his men stared blankly as light returned. First the notion of, for lack of a better description, moving paintings with sound, left them speechless. Combine that with weapons reaching over the horizon—it just didn't seem possible.

"Where are the sails?" asked one brutish man stupidly.

The woman's voice intruded.

"We don't _have_ sails. Our ships can move in whatever direction they want. Just imagine what would happen if you tried to launch an assault. Explosives raining down on your heads that you wouldn't see until you were dead."

He didn't need to know all these vessels were docked as museums—in no way fit to do anything of the sort.

"Lest you think yourself safe on land…"

Lights dimmed.

"Allied armor charges across the desert to drive the forces of Saddam Hussein from occupied Kuwait. Dated Soviet gear is no match for precision-guided munitions fired from miles away."

Tank turbines filled the ears of the transplants, not that they would have known what they were.

"Metal beasts! What are those things?" demanded Hans.

He didn't get an immediate answer. Instead, eardrum-bursting blasts showed exactly what happened when these vehicles' weapons struck home. Explosions taller than several men, causing similar-looking objects to explode violently (these were Iraqi T-62s).

The Defense Minister smiled to herself. It didn't matter Norway wouldn't be the one to do this, nor, did she suspect, would the United States deem a few men with cannons worth bringing the entire might of their military to bear on. But with such technological disparities, why not try to scare them?

[…]

Elsa's slide to greet her sister ended up ricocheting around the world too. With this a chorus of increasingly-loud voices insisted whatever was going on had to be supernatural as the Orlando Police Department had exactly zero incentive to either continue the prank or cooperate with Disney in deploying ridiculously advanced special effects that would've made militaries the world over stand at attention.

To clear up precisely what the people of this world thought of her, Elsa was treated to a showing of "Frozen." Though she had already seen it, Anna sat with her through the whole thing, causing her sister to wince as she belted out tunes along with her screen-self.

"I don't understand. If these people were able to show this much correctly, why change my appearance?"

"It's silly" replied Anna. "Don't worry about it. Liz tells me it's half art and half idealized notions of what women should look like. Remember those dresses that were supposed to clean themselves?"

Both sisters snickered. Several less-than-honest businessmen earned themselves stints in prison for peddling clothing that supposedly "would retain a pleasant odor even after a week of constant wear!" Marketed specifically toward ladies, they proved popular until people realized the claims made were unrealistic to say the least.

"There's absolutely nothing that stupid Hans can do to you" said Chelsea happily, having viewed the film for probably the twentieth time. She climbed up Anna and whispered in her ear. "He's a poop head!"

"Oh!" Anna jerked back in surprise, but Chelsea managed to hang on, giggling the whole time.

"You're both quite popular" assured Liz. "Look!"

She pulled up page after page on the internet—Frozen forums, Frozen merchandise, Frozen fan videos, Frozen art, Frozen cosplay…

"Why does this show Anna and me… kissing?"

Elsa turned slightly red. The scene was correct—Elsa weeping over an icy Anna, but there was a slight variation. Title: "Love Will Thaw."

"Eh heh heh. Uhh, Chelsea? Can you cover your ears and look the other way please?"

After Liz finished speaking, her explanation left both sisters embarrassed and confused.

"Let's…not talk about this anymore" said Elsa with an air of finality.

"Wait a minute" protested Anna. "I might think that drawing a little weird, but the title may have a point. If love thaws ice, can it also…"

"…transport people places?" finished Elsa.


	13. One World

**Chapter 13 – One World**

[I wonder what the Americans will say to this?]

[It makes about as much sense as everything else we've seen—which is to say, not much!]

Images of a Norwegian seaside village, now almost completely pulled back to the 19th century, zipped over the main trans-Atlantic fiber-optic internet cable.

The Arendelle sisters were moved to an unspecified private residence, but it only took a few hours for their location to be given away. Consequently, they stayed in a hotel near Disney World instead, shepherded by the Jamisons. Though people now knew where they were, it was easier to keep the public at bay, never mind avoiding having a poor homeowner's yard covered in costumed children.

"Look at this email!" shouted Sasha. "Does this look familiar?"

Liz squinted at it. Meanwhile, Sasha found herself forced to answer her damaged phone.

"Yes, Amber, I'm not in today. Or yesterday. I'm sorry—I got caught up in something. Yes, it had to do with Anna."

She snapped a few photos of the two—Elsa reading a newspaper and Anna flipping through channels on the wall-mounted HDTV (someone anonymously ponied up for a high-end suite for the quartet).

"Well then" sighed Amber. "I guess I'll just deal with the hordes of angry parents myself…"

Anna practically shattered everyone's eardrums.

"ELSA!"

Fixed on the TV: a photograph from Norway.

"Why did you lie to us?" Elsa sounded more sad than anything. "Arendelle is right there, and you said it didn't exist…"

"But it didn't" protested Liz. "See?"

She grabbed the remote away from Anna and unpaused the newscast.

"CNN Newsroom obtained both these current images and what used to be present. It doesn't take an expert in 'Eye Spy' to see a lot has changed…"

The slideshow continued until the anchorman spoke again.

"This man claims he parked his car, stepped into the shop, but when he returned it was gone."

"And I just paid it off!" fumed the man in question.

A panning shot made it very clear what passed for city hall no longer resembled anything modern.

"Hey! I can see my room!" squealed Anna, pointing at a window on the castle's tower.

Elsa squinted, leaning closer to the TV. "Is that…"

In the background, what looked like a faint but very distinct blue could be seen against the otherwise gray-brown of the mountain behind the town.

[…]

[If any other part of my country forgets what year it is, I am going to have to dig up the old Norse mythology…] fumed the Prime Minister. [And no one else seems to have this problem. Even though the two people most related to this insanity appeared in the United States!]

Though impromptu tourism through what now became a throwback in time brought many to a transformed village, it was a simple fact that modern life could not continue without power lines, refrigeration, internet, or infrastructure meeting 20th century standards. Thus, the residents of this small seaside town evacuated to nearby localities.

Those who remained were scientists of all stripes, trying to understand how a 19th-century villa could simply _appear_ in place of a modern town. No amount of Geiger counters, electron scanners, and materials analysis could make heads or tails of it.

"Darn."

Liz felt disappointment. There'd been a rumor (that lasted all of twenty delicious minutes) that the US Air Force would supply four supersonic fighter jets ("F-15 Strike Eagles," they said) to ferry the Arendelle sisters and their erstwhile guardians from the United States to Norway in a fraction of the usual half-day or more required by commercial planes.

"Bet they're wishing we had the Concorde still" she'd smirked afterward. However, Liz wasn't complaining as a black VIP SUV delivered them to Orlando International Airport where a Learjet awaited. It was a special military model capable of refueling in-flight, which it would have to do in order to reach Norway without setting down.

"So this is an airplane?" asked an eager Anna. "Cool!" It took some reassuring from Anna to convince Elsa to board the small craft. As "ICE-001" shot down its runway, Liz could see two military-looking jets taking off on parallel courses.

"Not to worry you, miss, but there have been threats against these two—particularly the one who apparently has ice powers" said the pilot in response to her look of concern.

"Waaaa, whoah, whee!"

"You never forget the first time" chuckled Sasha. "Some people hate it, but it seems Anna isn't one of them."

"Well, I do like fast" clarified the younger Princess as wheels left the ground.

"Welcome aboard Liz, Sasha, and royalty of Arendelle. This will be an eight-hour nonstop flight from the United States to Norway. As a reminder, no smoking is permitted, and the air sickness bags can be found in front of you."

"Lucky" griped Liz an hour in, noticing everyone except her managed to nod off. Anna pulled the incredible feat of sleeping _across_ a chair, armrests and all. Elsa, having discovered her seat's recliner, kicked back, quite amenable to the comforts despite being from a society that operated in the equivalent of the 19th century.

"At least there aren't any screaming babies on this flight…"


	14. Queenside Castle

**Chapter 14 – Queenside Castle**

"Well, that was crazy. Let's do it again!"

Anna's enthusiasm for new had no limits. She'd managed to not destroy Liz's phone (though given the lack of available data she'd been forced to only play games rather than browse the internet). One trip in a column of SUVs later, Elsa stood at the gates of her city as if she'd never left.

VROOOOM. VROOOOM.

Both guards and companions turned to see Anna's fiery red hair behind the wheel of one of the SUVs.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

"I guess it's a good thing that car is in park, or else you would've run over your sister."

"Very funny, Sasha. Now why won't this wheel turn?"

The Jamisons pulled Anna from the driver's seat. She turned to see Elsa running her hand over the castle's main gate.

"It's not supposed to exist here. But it does" she whispered. "Where is everybody?"

Snow began swirling. "At least it's appropriate for the climate" said Liz. She and Sasha craned their necks, trying to find the spot of blue they'd seen on several photos. In the distance—Elsa's ice castle. Life really had imitated art! Sasha moved to pull out her phone, only to find it gone. The cars, too, vanished.

Guards found themselves stripped of firearms, ballistic vests, and radios, though it could be seen approximately how far away anything not 19th-century vintage would be safe from disappearance by looking back the direction the group came. One man there waved his hands frantically, having been unable to summon his colleagues via technological means. Several of the now-baton-only squad retreated back to see what was going on.

"Well, I guess I could show you around." It wasn't a request—Anna practically dragged her two new friends across the bridge toward her childhood home, now manifested in their reality.

"She won't like this…" muttered one of Elsa's protectors. "Your Majesty!"

The flustered Queen tried to tamp down the snow but couldn't end it entirely. Those around her were treated to flurries.

"High-altitude surveillance—like the plane you flew in but basically for spying—has determined additional strange happenings are in progress in this area. One is less than fifty miles, the other several hundred."

Despite being temporally displaced, Elsa immediately guessed what this meant.

"The Southern Isles and Weselton" she spat. "Both had a grudge against my people due to my powers. Even though it appears none of my citizens are here, I suspect they may well attack anyway. How are wars fought in your land?"

"If they attack on horseback it's going to be pretty one-sided" replied a man wearing some kind of official-looking uniform. "The more advanced nations on this planet have, uh, vehicles" (he pointed at the remaining SUV some distance away) "like that, but bigger and more powerful. Based on what I've been told about your time, gunpowder isn't common there. Here, it's a mainstay from personal firearms all the way up to 120mm cannons mounted on tanks."

Receiving a blank look at the last part of his statement, the man stopped talking.

[…]

Further shifts in Norwegian terrain had even the normally-calm Norwegian Police Service sharpening their questioning of Hans.

"You claim to not have brought any further forces with you" they said "but based on what we know" (Hans glared at them) "these others are allied with you. It's suspected they represent Weselton and the Southern Isles. Unless you want to see all that weaponry you were shown in action against your people, you will do as we say and command that hostilities cease."

"In case it hasn't crossed your all-knowing minds" he snapped "I'm thirteenth in line. If my brothers want to start a war, nothing I say is going to convince them otherwise."

"There's no harm in trying. We will take you to 'Weselton' first."

"Perhaps you can explain this sorcery?" demanded an irked Duke. "You and your men go missing attacking Arendelle, which then proceeded to disappear. Now we are in a strange land!"

Keenly aware of the fate of technology coming into too close contact of what had been informally dubbed magic, only Hans was sent through Weselton's gates, which slammed shut behind him.

Approximately a half-hour later, Hans reappeared.

"I told you that wouldn't work" he fumed. "It just made them more determined to 'take out the monster.' It is what they were paying me for!"

The order went out: "Rattle their cages!" Minutes later, a squadron of six Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16 jet fighters roared overhead, though they also avoided close proximity to time-shifted areas. Given "Weselton's" appearance near to the Norwegian coastline, two of the fighters loosed missiles aimed out over the sea that would detonate some distance away, but their effect and sound would still be noticed.

"That won't scare them" insisted Hans. "They are ready to go up against a woman who can alter the weather. Explosives aren't on the same level."

"You are lucky that you are not dealing with the Americans" replied one of Hans' minders. "They might well have just flattened the place without question."

"That seems to be the impression I got of them, yes."

"Now, off to deal with this extended family of yours…"

[…]

"Well, I guess I can just live here. By myself…" The group, reassembled after a whirlwind jaunt through the castle and now viewing Arendelle at a range safe for modern technology, stood in a small circle.

"Oh come on, Elsa! You don't have to be alone! We've been over this!"

"I don't want a fight, I don't want to hurt anyone…"

"Okay fine, so we get yanked out of our world into some other one. But remember this?" She grabbed for a nearby tablet and made a few gestures. "You're forgetting that people here love us! Look!"

Children sang many of the songs the pair let out during their most recent adventures. Inspirations abounded, from the fluffy to the serious. "It's like a scroll of parchment" said Anna eagerly, "except, it's not…" She shoved the tablet in her sister's face.

"Woman, 23, Saves Herself From Depression Through Elsa"

"I mean, it stinks everyone obsesses over _you_ and not over _me_, but I'll let it slide."

Anna's own grin finally managed to pull a small smile out of her sister.

"Well, if love thaws things… It might also transport people places."

"Yes! You said that before. I have absolutely no idea how that might work, of course, but given that throwing myself in front of a sword managed to save you…"

Elsa let out a small laugh. "You're not allowed to do that again. Queen's orders."

"Now, I don't think love can be quantified like gigabytes or megawatts" said Liz, "but my theory is that us obsessing over you brought you here." What she didn't add was the notion that said devotion might, in her view, have created something that wasn't supposed to exist at all, not merely pulled other people into the reality she called home. "So, enough craziness and it might just send you back."

Though the idea sounded ridiculous, even the most skeptical had to concede given recent events this didn't seem as far-fetched as it first looked.

"Thing is" continued Sasha, "if we were going to have some kind of huge 'Frozen' party, we couldn't just let anyone in. This isn't about the cool kids club or anything. But I'm pretty sure lots of people would try to buy their way in just to say they were there—that type of love is about as real as what you and Hans had."

"Don't get me started on that…"

"_Anna!_" Elsa gasped. "Where did you hear someone use that word?"

Smiling mischievously, she pointed at Sasha.


	15. Party Crashers

**Chapter 15 – Party Crashers**

With three small hamlets in Norway now fully transformed into semi-equivalents of themselves from centuries ago, the world resolved to do the only logical thing in the face of the fantastic: embrace it and hope for the best.

Hans' predictions regarding Weselton and the Southern Isle proved _partially_ correct. Sure, the pirate corsairs hired by Weselton tried to menace Arendelle and land soldiers there, but the operative word was "tried."

"I wish I could have seen their faces!" squealed Anna as she watched the BBC's international coverage.

"Marauders in service of the principality of 'Weselton' were today interdicted by a full carrier battle group centered on USS _Theodore Roosevelt _guided in by airborne intelligence sources. No weapons fire was exchanged, however, it was reported that several of the ships surrendered on sighting the US supercarrier."

"Whatever Hans said must've scared them enough to delay the assault" said Liz via Skype. She and her sister returned to their home due to the resumption of school, but they promised (and delivered on) weekly video sessions with the Arendelle royalty. "I would have thought they would've attacked right away!"

Meanwhile, plans for a full-out celebration proceeded apace. Celebrating what, exactly, nobody knew. However, it was apparent the only thing that could generate more hyper children than "Frozen" in a theater was "Frozen: As Real as It Gets." Pundits remarked it would make an interesting chapter in history textbooks—tens of millions of dollars, official government resources, and international cooperation to throw what amounted to a children's party. But the "love theory" gained widespread support, so as crazy as it seemed, few objected beyond the usual noisy elements predicting the end of the world.

"Even in this world, people are afraid of what they don't understand" said Anna on international TV. "If you can cure the pox, keep food cold forever, and your women wear trousers but Elsa's ice powers escape explanation, well, I don't know what to tell ya!"

A worldwide lottery allocated tickets to the event. It would, aside from random chance, be free from the usual celebrity fixtures of such galas—the stars were Anna, Elsa, and the children who adored them. Accommodating five thousand youngsters and the parents who herded them involved more than just logistics, security, too had to be considered. In scenes reminiscent of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," more than one ticket-holder found themselves subjected to harassment, bribe offers, and threats if they did not surrender their pass.

Several of these menaces found their possessions encased in blocks of ice. Nobody had any comment.

Finally, the day arrived. "Frozen: As Real as It Gets" would be a marathon of a gathering, though not for the typical reasons. Instead of dignitaries giving speeches while everyone stole glances at smartphones for the time, the event would open with a snowball fight. Plans to have Olaf greet guests were shelved when it was pointed out this could cause a massive bottleneck at the gate. Instead, he would be found inside, along with a tiara-wearing Marshmallow. After telling Elsa how many children would be present, the flustered Queen asked if she should create more identical snowmen.

"Eh, I wouldn't do that" advised one event planner. "Thing about kids, especially when one of their fantasies comes to life like this, is part of the experience arises from the uniqueness. You don't want them fighting over the 'real' Olaf, do you?"

Neither Elsa nor Anna had any significant experience dealing with children, so they deferred, but Elsa did create snow steeds instead ("Good idea, how else are we supposed to keep hundreds of children from mobbing us?"). Between the ice rink, snow-horse track, ice castle, Marshmallow rides, Frozen-themed food (one of the few things Elsa had very little to do with), and Frozen makeup sessions (Anna eagerly helped out), it was hoped that whatever magic brought the two here might be reversed.

As the snowball exchange ended and other activities began, Elsa and Anna mingled among their guests. It was rather difficult to handle children snapping from climbing all over them and asking for more snow to becoming teary-eyed upon being told "No sweetie, you can't have Elsa/Anna/both all to yourself."

Highlights included a long train of children pulled across ice by snow-jet, Anna disappearing under a pile of excited fans after tripping on said rink (which caused an even larger pileup), and Elsa confusing everyone at hide-and-seek.

"My older brother is jealous" piped up one youngster. The sisters shared a quick confused look—most of those they'd observed obsessing over them had been female. "He says not to worry about cooties anymore."

Anna explained the concept to Elsa, who didn't understand it.

"What makes us so interesting?"

Such questioning from the snow queen drew responses from parents. Sure, they'd been told by about every kid that the fantastical was "cool," "amazing" or "awesome" but that didn't explain the few _adults_ who seemed to have as much enthusiasm as those twenty or more years younger. Again, Anna took the lead due to having been better versed in the world the pair found themselves in.

"Well. The role of women has certainly changed in this society. You don't have to be Queen or a royal to earn respect."

Elsa nodded approvingly. Still, despite agreeing with what Anna had to say, she wasn't about to ignore the lengthening line for her latest snow-slides.

The pair eventually moved up to the ice castle's balcony. Castle tours were being offered, though plans to show the movie itself on the main level were scrapped due to not having enough space and the simple fact that most audio-visual equipment would not tolerate the conditions within.

"There's really not much to see in here, is there?" asked Anna. "It's beautiful, but…where would you eat? Where would you sleep?"

Elsa laughed.

"Anna, next time you leave everything behind and start singing to yourself, maybe you can come up with something a little more functional! Besides, I think they're enjoying the ice rink…"

A crash startled both sisters. Several more caused them to look down—the castle's base began to splinter. Dark round objects lay in the wreckage.

"I thought we scared them off!" cried Anna.

Elsa didn't speak. There was a whole crowd ready to come up, and if the structure tipped they would be endangered. A blast of ice shored up the tilting upper level as she took Anna's advice, eschewing form for function. Black sails could be seen in the harbor, and the flashes made obvious what was happening. A frightening snarl crossed the Queen's face as she redirected what were pleasant flurries meant for the event into a tidal wave of ice that flowed out into the harbor.

Later analysis would blame high-tech systems that missed low-tech attacks: radar cross sections of wooden and cloth ships were not generally something any modern navy concerned itself with. While the pirates on Weselton's payroll were not privy to this, they didn't have to be to take advantage of the discrepancy as sail-powered ships that turned tail at the sight of a supercarrier stealthily snuck back around while the battle group's advanced defensive systems built around the notion of spotting threats hundreds of miles away due to radar returns ignored them.

"Elsa!"

"What, Anna? What would you have me do? If defending myself makes me a monster, then so be it!"

"No, no, I just… I've never seen anything like that before!"

Elsa fell silent in response.

"Look, if someone does something to you, oh, like trying to leave you to freeze to death, punching them in the face is perfectly justified! I mean, who shoots at _kids_? They're the real monsters!"

A second commotion. Where all the horsemen charging overland came from, Elsa could only guess. Anna's gushing yet again came in too early—these "advanced" people who according to Anna had some pretty fantastical abilities apparently missed some very obvious (to Elsa) things. It didn't take much "discouragement" to cause a rout by panicking the horses. No need to (deliberately) injure; dismounted soldiers not geared to fight on foot did not an effective assault force make. She smirked while raising a stampede of snow-equines. Not only would they be denied their own mounts, but icy horses covered in spikes made for further incentive to leave.

"Oops."

Anna gave her a strange look.

"I didn't _mean_ to put huge spikes on the horses…"

"And I'm sure they didn't _mean_ to attack a gathering full of children. I distinctly remember the _last_ time you were confused and scared, you turned this whole place red, or so you told me anyway."

Satisfied that attacks would come neither by land nor by sea (air remained impossible), the sisters turned their attention back to festivities. This included trying to participate in as many things as was humanely possible while greeting as many of the kids as practicality permitted. A few unwise parents failed to heed the large "NO TECHNOLOGY PAST THIS POINT" signs and lost their devices as a result—no Instagramming or Facebooking would occur, no matter how fast the skating, how authentic the winter steeds, or how clumsily amusing Anna tended to be on ice skates.

"It's as if the magic doesn't want to be recorded!" complained one.

That it took supernaturally-induced events to get some children to pay attention to reality at length was not lost on other parents. Afterward, a small trend of "de-digitizing" was noted in the news.

As the chorus of "Let It Go" built, a crescendo of the final part of a lengthy day, the only record of this peaceful gathering would ironically arise from military-grade cameras able to record the visuals at a distance. Said sensors were able to pick up on a huge snowflake reminiscent of the movie itself as the song progressed. High-definition sensors captured a huge flash; the snowflake fragmented into one last snowfall as everything reset in the blink of an eye.

Children on the ice rink found themselves again wearing shoes. The rink itself vanished. A few interested in the ice palace blinked and their elevation changed from around two hundred feet above ground level to ground level. No trace of Arendelle or its two opponents could be found anywhere, not a scrap of cloth or flake of snow.


	16. Break of Dawn

**Chapter 16 – Break of Dawn**

Sasha dragged herself to work. During spring break she'd put in extra hours to fill her pockets—though she held no ill-will toward Anna for cracking her phone (and then having it disappear) she wasn't looking forward to having to spend all her "surplus" toward a new device. She figured she'd downsize to something cheaper.

"Sash? This was in the back room…"

Amber handed over a rough-hewn package, burlap by the looks of it. She untied it, and a note fell out.

Sasha,

I can't replace your phone. I don't even know what's in it other than sorcery and magic. But this may help.

Anna

Curious, Sasha discreetly smell-checked it—it was identical to the garment Anna was wearing when the pair first met. Nothing but natural fabric scent.

"Did you see her leave this here?" She held up the dress.

"Whoa. No, I didn't, but… Forget it."

"Forget what, Amber?"

"Well, you know that big shipment of 'Frozen' toys we're supposed to have come in next week? I was going to try to hire a princess, but you know how hard that is out here."

Sasha disappeared briefly before returning, fully decked-out as an Anna lookalike.

"I'll need a wig of some sort though…"

Through narrowed eyes, Amber Gordon studied her employee. Shaking her head to clear it, she said "I'm pretty sure we can order one."

"Good, 'cause I can look the part except the hair, I guess."

Amber sat on the counter. There was just no way around it. Sasha Jamison sounded exactly like Anna.

"You realize you sound like Anna, right?"

Now she got the same look back, until the older woman pulled out her iPhone. "Here, say something."

"Uhh… Mic check? Hello?"

Far away at university, Liz Jamison rustled through her dorm closet. Never one for dresses, a sparkle caught her eye. Neatly hung on a large wooden hanger bearing some kind of burned-in coat-of-arms: a blue dress exactly like that which Elsa had worn.

Her phone buzzed—text from "Kid Sister." Taking the few steps to her desk, Liz dug around in her desk drawer for a charger since her phone was probably running low, it being after dinner. Her hand met something cold and metallic while the other reached for her phone. The text had an attached photo. Her prized Android clattered to the floor before she could plug it in. Thankfully, luck was on her side and Liz bent down to pick up the device. "Okay Google, call Mom…"

Many hundreds of miles later, Liz stepped out of her shocked mother's Prius.

"This is a new one."

"Not much different than having Disney characters come to life…"

The two sisters eyed each other, unsure what to think of sudden vocal shifts.

"Well, I guess we can earn a bunch of money this weekend. Amber had to rush-order the wigs, but they'll get here in time. Thank you Amazon Prime!"

Hearing Anna's voice praise Amazon Prime sent Liz into a small giggle fit. Shifting uncomfortably, the elder Jamison pulled parchment out of an inside pocket—_A dress with pockets? How very practical. Much more so than this train…_

Liz,

Thank you for believing and trusting me. And taking care of my sister.

Elsa

"Come on, 'Anna,' we have some practicing to do!"

Orlando suffered no lasting impact from the "Elsa Incident" aside from memories (that would live forever online). A disappointed Chelsea, having not been selected to attend the massive send-off, unzipped her Elsa/Anna backpack to pull out her dreaded math homework, only to find a cylindrical something wrapped atop her math book.

Unrolling a single carrot from cloth, a piece of paper fell into small hands.

"Tell me what it's like in summer next winter." No name was provided. "PS: Keep away from reindeer."

No effort was made to try to keep "secrets" that the whole world over knew anyway, or could confirm with a quick internet search. Scant evidence beyond videos and anecdotes would ever confirm the existence of what was functionally magic, but to try to deny it happened would be foolish. Without anything else tangible to study, scientific inquiries dried up, as did darker programs seeking to weaponize either cryokinetic powers or more generally the ability to appear out of thin air.

Cheeky commentators had one thing to say to any other filmmakers: no cute monsters. _Especially_ no adorable Borg, hurting Dark Jedi, plush Flood, repentant Orcs, non-lethal Jokers, or anything else that could, "in the Sense of this Congress, cause possible direct or indirect harm through means which escape the current understanding of Science." That the only bipartisan bill to pass with huge majorities in 2014 dealt with _magic_ without naming it led to its status as The Word several times and the round bit of ranting that implied.

"But seriously, Abrams, _be careful_" warned Disney executives. "We don't need a Death Star for a moon…"

_Fin_


End file.
